Monsters Among Men
by CurlyHairedBeauty
Summary: Growing up as the heir to one of the largest mob families is hard. Expecting to be subservient to the male dominated world of the mafia is the hardest for Isabella Swan but she has never let it affect her. That is until her father starts to encourage marriage to protect her and the family. Bella's whole life is shifted when she meets her potential suitor, for the good and bad.
1. Chapter 1

So this is my first time in a long time writing Fanfiction. I used to write and read it a lot when I was in late middle/early high school. However, the interest faded for a while until a couple months ago. I started reading again and now I'm trying out writing again. I hope you all enjoy this story! I will try to update as much as possible. I'll see you at the bottom!

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I feel the adrenaline pumping through my veins as I approach the stage. It is like this every time I perform. It could be a complex ballet recital or a simple striptease. I would always be nervous before performing. The manager nodded, letting me know my queue. I counted to three in my head and heard the opening chords of my favorite strip tease song. I slowly stalk out to the middle of the stage and I hear the whistles and catcalls from the audience. I always get this type of response as I walk on stage. I know men, and many women, lust after me. From my long toned legs, full breasts, and revealing costume, I am sex to them. Tonight I decided to treat them to a red wrap crop top that accentuates my breast and small waist, fishnet thigh highs, a black garter belt, and a pair of black lacy boy shorts. They are made like athletic shorts and don't ride up, but look more like lingerie than anything else. The finishing touch is the sky-high red heels on my feet. It is my staple item for these shows, not that I dance much these days.

I give the dance my all. It wasn't the kind of dances I imagined myself doing when I double majored in dance. However, I would take what I could get. Anything that would allow me to feel the beat in my core and allow me to move with it was better than nothing. As the dance came to a close and the dollar bills flooded the stage, I finally saw my target.

In the back left corner was a middle-aged man drinking what looked like scotch. He sat alone. Waiting for someone. I smirked and bowed, taking in all the applause. I walked back to the changing area and brushed the strands of my pink bob out of my face. I grabbed my some things out of my bag, put them in their proper place and headed out to the crowd. I weaved through the sea of men, eyes on the target.

"Mmm hi sexy. What can I get for you?" I whispered in his ear from behind. I held in the laugh as he jumped up in his seat.

"N-nu-nothing miss. I'm just waiting on a friend" He said turning to look at me. I can see the lust in his eye. This will be easy.

"Your friend? Where is he at? I would hate to let you get all lonely." I say, fluttering my eyelashes and running a hand down his arm.

"He should be here soon. His name is Swan. Have you seen him around? I haven't met him in person before but I'm about to get a huge raise. Maybe after our meeting me and you can have a little fun" He trails off eye fucking me.

"Oh, Swan aye? I know where he is. I'll escort you to his office. I'm sure we can have lots of fun afterward" I wink and stand. I walk to the other side to the building.

I see Jacob and wink at him. He smirks and follows behind us as we walk down the hallway he was guarding. We continue down the hallway till we come to a dead end, having walked past all the other office. I push the button for the secret entryway to appear and walk down the dark stairwell. I hear the man stumble down the stairs as there is barely any light. I would be just like him if I haven't been walking these stairs since I was 15.

"Miss you sure he's down here?" The man asks worriedly.

"We are almost there sexy. Just one minute." Once we are down about two stories underground, I find the entrance I am looking for. I wave my hand over a keypad and it lights up for me to see the numbers. I quickly type my pin and a solid metal door open. I walk in and allow him to see the room. He is blinded by the sudden change of light that he doesn't have enough time to react as the door slams back in place, Jacob's large frame blocking the only way he knows how to escape.

"Where the hell are we!" The man yells, looking at one of the many interrogation rooms we have. He whips around and sees Jacob blocking the door while Embry and Quil emerge from the shadows. "Who the hell are you?" He screams, realizing this is not what he had planned.

The room is completely sealed with soundproof walls. It has two cells on either side, the middle open for interrogations. There was a table in the back with all of my favorite tools and a lone chair in the very middle.

"You two, tie him up" I order, shifting into the leader I am, the monster inside me smiling at the fun we can have tonight. The man yells and screams, struggling against Embry and Quil's hold. It was useless. They had him restrained in a minute. The man's suit jacket was removed as well as the gun and pocket knife he had.

"Well well well. Mr. Morgan is it? We have been expecting you." I say, slowly walking around the chair, stalking my prey. "We have heard some very bad things about you, mister. Something about taking extra cuts of our drugs your guys were supposed to be selling?"

I pull out the knife at the top of my thigh high and run it along his neck, barely breaking the skin. He jerks away and yelps in fear.

"I don't know what ya talking about you bitch! Let me go!" He yells back at me, trying to intimidate me.

"Why am I always called that? A bitch. I'm just doing my job sweetie. Maybe you should have done yours." I smirk and stab his thigh with my blade and leave it there. He screams out more curse words and tries to break free from his bounds. "Now you want to fucking explain where my money is or are we going to keep playing this game!" He reminds silent, not taking my threat seriously.

"Fine. Guess we are going to have some fun tonight. Jacob." I watch as Jacob start the first part of my interrogation. Beating the answers out of him. "Stop" I state after about five minutes. His face is bloody and bruises are already beginning to form. The man spits up blood and groans just as his jaw moves to do so. "So Mr. Morgan. Want to talk?" I ask as I step closer to him. I lean in his face and rip the knife from this thigh causing him to scream out again. I smirked and wiped the blood off with his suit jacket that was laying on the floor.

"I can fix it. I swear. Let me go and I'll fix it." He choked out, breathing heavy. The pain was evident in his voice.

"Already fessing up? Whatever happened to the men that never spoke. The ones you would just have to end up murdering. Ah, times have changed. Isn't it right boys?" I reminisced, looking at my fellow men in the room. They all smirked, watching me toy with my prey.

They knew this was the easy kind of target. The one that confessed to all of their sins after a couple punches. Very rarely did we have to get our hands that dirty. Our men were loyal, but sometimes we, or I, had to remind people who my family was.

I walked to the back table and picked up one of my favorite tools. My gun. This was the first handgun my father ever bought me. I trained for years with this gun. I had my first kill with this gun. I rarely carried it with me anymore. However, for certain occasions, I brought it out. Like tonight.

"Jonathan Morgan you have been one of my father's best recruiters but you got greedy." I walked back in front of him, gun in hand. His face paled and you could smell the stench of urine.

"He trusted you and you broke his trust when you stole a quarter mill from us. By breaking his trust, you broke my trust. And today I will be your judge, jury, and executioner." The bullet was through his skull before he could respond. I set the gun back on the table with the rest of the tools I could have used. I was tired and knew his end result. I normally don't grant those mercy after they betraying us, but tonight was the exception.

"Clean this place up and dispose of the body." I order and the three get started. I leave the steel room and head back to the club level. I step into my office, grab my important items and slip on my leather jacket and black jeans. Helmet in hand, I lock my office and leave out the back door. I quickly straddle and start my bike and speed home, knowing I will have to face my father and his disapproving glare.

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So what do you think? Again it's been a while so please don't be too harsh. However, I would love for anyone and everyone to review! It would mean the world to me. But I'll see you all on the next one!


	2. Chapter 2

Hi everyone! I just wanted to thank everyone for all of the love and support on the first chapter. I know it's a little bit of a different start but I hope everyone will give it a chance. Things will be explained as the story continues. But here is Chapter 2!

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I pull into the garage after passing through security. I quickly park my bike and throw off my helmet. I shake out my hair and look up to see Charlie leaning against a metal toolbox, scowling at me. 

"My office. Now." He states firmly, leaving no room for argument. "And take off the fucking wig." I sigh and do as he says. I remove it and the wig cap as quickly as I can as I follow him into the house. We walk up the back staircase that leads to the second floor. He stomps into this office and throws open the door. I close it behind us and take a seat on the opposite side of his desk. 

While my father has more money than he knows what to do with, he is a simple man. His office is large, yes, but the wall of shelves behind his desk mostly contained with books that I have collected over the years. The rest of the space contained a small sitting area and his giant wooden desk. 

"Isabella what the fuck did you do?! I told you to leave Morgan alone. I would handle it. But noooo, you had to jump the gun and fucking murder him at the club no less! You know I fucking hate you being there! You aren't some fucking whore!" my father yells, pacing the room still. "He was our number one recruiter and worked with many different families. What are they going to say? Sorry, my daughter is trigger happy!" 

"I did what I had to do. He stole from our family. He got the same punishment any other man, women, or child would for that. You also know that I'm not a fucking whore and don't you ever insinuate that again old man!" I yell back just as loudly. I may be his daughter but I will not be treated as his subordinate and cower down to him.

"I told you that in time he would meet his end. I wanted to milk him for all he was worth. You jumped the gun, Isabella."

"What did she do this time?" I turn my head as I head Seth walks in my father's office.

"Seth go back to sleep. You don't need to listen to this." I say softly, wanting to shield him from our discussion. Seth is my younger cousin. He is only a few years younger than me but we all know he is not made for this life and try to shield him from it as much as possible.

He completely ignores me and has a seat in the chair next to mine.

"What did you do Bella? You guys screaming at each other woke me up so obviously it was something." He says rolling his eyes.

"Isabella killed Morgan at the club when I explicitly told her not to." My dad said, glaring at me and leaning against his desk.

"I did it to protect the family name. If someone was to hear that we let a thief live we would just cause more of them. Besides, we don't need him anymore. We got everything we needed from him. You know all of his men follow our orders, not his. I will meet with them tomorrow and discuss them becoming our runners." Seth being there instantly calms both of us. While my father and I tend to disagree on how we handle situations, but we both agree not to yell and argue in front of Seth.

Seth and I have both been through a lot these past couple of years. Five years ago, my mother and uncle were in a car accident. They collided head-on with a semi and the car eventually went up in flames. The coroner reported that both died instantly and most likely felt no pain. That didn't mean the rest of us didn't feel pain. My aunt completely left the family, to guilt-ridden to even see us. My other cousin Leah followed her mother's footsteps, basically faded from our family as well. While both Charlie and myself were distraught with the loss of our loved ones, we accepted Seth into our fucked up family of three. Seth has always been more open to the family business than the other. However, he would never fit in. He's too loving and caring to do what we do. That is why he is going into the medical field. We wanted to save lives, not take them.

"Very well." My father nods. He knows how much I care about our image and understands my reasoning. He knows I'm right, but he will never recognize his fault, at least out loud. He walks back around his desk and sits behind it, sighing and rubbing his face. "How did it go?"

"He squealed like a pig. I barely got started before he begged to right his wrongs." I chuckle and Seth cringes at my words. "I ended it quickly though. I wasn't feeling murderous." I say looking at him and winking.

Seth shakes his head at me and stands up "Well I'm done here. I have a final in the morning. Goodnight." He waves at us and walks out of the office. We sit in silence for a moment and my father looks at me.

"Isabella...you know how I feel about you dancing at the club. It's extremely dangerous and you deserve better than that."

"I know. You have told me this multiple times. That's why Jake is always there. Besides, no one would recognize me nor expect me to be there. I rarely go there and our name isn't attached to the club. Even the Feds don't know it's ours." I say rolling my eyes. I appreciate his fatherly concern, but I have never had a problem there. Even in their lust filled haze, the men there are scared of me.

My father pauses for a while, listening to the excuse I give every time we have this discussion.

"I know why you really did all this though. It's the same reason you have been so strict with everyone lately. You're scared people won't respect you as Dom." He says looking at me knowingly.

"I'm not scared." I pause, looking away from him." I may be worried, but not scared."

"You know all of our men respect you _mia figlia_ (my daughter). They have seen you fight. They know you're a strong leader." He continues confidently

"It's not them I am worried about," I state, whipping my head around to look him the eyes. "You know the other families will be a threat and I will not allow them to run over me." I stand up as I speak and move to the door. "I will keep our family strong as long as I live," I state with my back towards him and walk out.

I walk down the hall to my room. I open my door and see a large figure sitting on my bed, the room pitch black. I quickly draw my weapon and point, finger on the trigger.

"It would be my honor to die by your bullet _principessa_ (Princess)."

I roll my eyes and flick on the light. There is Jacob sitting on my bed.

"One day I'm actually going to shoot you," I mutter and put my gun back in its holster. He rolls his eyes and lies back on my bed. His long 6'5 frame takes up most of my queen bed. He is attractive, with his tan deep skin, short ink black hair and deep brown eyes, but he would never be more than a friend. A brother really.

We started training with my father right around the time I started. We have been by each other's side ever since. He was officially bodyguard but he was more of a right-hand man. I didn't need protection. Yes, I was the only child of a mob boss, but no one really knew I would be taking over when my father stepped down.

"I look forward to it Isabella." He chuckles and looks over at me "How did it go?"

"You really should go see a therapist. You enjoy the thought of me killing you way too much." I ignore his question and step into my walk-in closet. While I'm not a very girly-girl, I do enjoy the finer things in life, especially clothes, shoes, and handbags. I change out of my clothes and throw them in my dirty hamper, placing my gun in my set of drawers.

"I'm not here to talk about my eventual demise. I'm here to ask you how your talk with your father went." He sits back up on the bed and looks towards the closet. I slip on a large tee shirt and yoga pants. I move to stand at the doorway and look at him.

"It went fine. He yelled. I yelled. Seth interrupted and calmed us down. He lectured me on going to the club as he always done. That was pretty much the end of it.

"That was it?" He asks, confusion written all over his face.

"Was there something else he should have told me?" I ask, tilting my head and starting him down. "You know I don't like secrets, Jacob. What it is?"

He turns his head and looks down. "It's not my place Bella. Charlie will talk to you when he's ready." I glared and moved to stand in front of him. He sat up completely and looked up at me from his spot on my bed. "I'm serious Bells. It's not my place."

"Fine" I sighed, knowing whatever he was hiding was not life threatening. "But get out of my bed you asshole. It's been a long day and I need to get some sleep."

"Fine. Fine" He laughs and hops up, hands up in defense. "I'll see you in the morning. Get ready to get your ass kicked Swan. "He sneaks out of the room and the pillow hits where his head was just a moment before.

I roll my eyes at his antics and head to shower. I walk into my adjoining bathroom. All I wanted at this point was to shower. I slipped off the clothes I just put on and turned on the water. I stepped in and allowed the hot spray to relax my muscles. I stood there for a moment, finally at peace.

It was a time like this I was able to truly relax. I don't have many of these moments with my kind of work, so I treasure them as much as possible. I grab my favorite shampoo and start to lather it in my hair. My hair is getting too long. It's almost at my waist. I haven't really cut it since my mother past. She always loved how long and shiny it was.

I finished my shower and wrapped a fluffy towel around me. I walked to the sink and wiped the steam from the mirror, look into it. Staring back at me is a young woman with slightly tanned skin, the perfect mixture of her Italian father's and American mother's genes. My deep brown eyes look tired and stressed and my long hair isn't as shiny as it was when I was longer.

I sigh and shake my head. Even I can see the sadness in my eyes. I change back into my pajamas and dry my hair with the towel. I walk into my room and check my phone. 2:37 am. Great. I set my alarm for 8 am and get into bed, slipping under the covers. I fall into a dreamless sleep the moment my head hits the pillow. 

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Soooo. What do you think? I like this chapter a lot and I feel like this is the first glance of who Bella really is.

I do have a question though. Would you all prefer chapters similar in length to the ones I have posted, or significantly longer chapters? The longer the chapter, the less I will be able to upload so keep that in mind.

With that being said, let me know what you think. I love any and all feedback. Reviews make me incredibly happy! See you on the next one!


	3. Chapter 3

Hi everyone! I'm sorry for the wait on chapter 3. I hope everyone has had a happy holidays so far! I'm going to keep this brief because I'm excited for you to see what happen this chapter. See you at the bottom!

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BEEP BEEP BEEP 

"Fuck" I grumble and slap my hand out to my nightstand, trying to make the noise stop. It feels like I just went to sleep and it's already time to get up.

With a sigh, I sit up and rub my eyes. I yawn, stretch, and get out of bed. I walk to my closet and change into a pair of athletic shorts, sports bra, and hoodie. I walk into my bathroom and brush my teeth. Afterwards, I put my hair in a high ponytail, needing it out of my face. I then walk out of my room and head downstairs.

"Good morning Bella" Sam, my father's bodyguard nods at me as we pass each other.

"Morning" I nod back, not wake enough for conversation. I walk through the foyer and down a back hallway, slightly hidden from the main part of the house.

My mother and father built this mansion after the married and my mother wanted to hide anything that wasn't perfect. She never liked the "dirty" aspects of my father's life and wanted to pretend it didn't exist. So, she laid out the house to highlight the "happy" parts, like the dining room and mini ballroom, but hide the training areas and my father's office.

"Right on time. I thought I was going to drag you out of bed." Jacob laughed as he saw me walk into our home gym. In here was every machine you could think of, plus a sparing area. This was added when I was younger and expressing interest in this life.

"I'm never late." I roll my eyes and walk over to him. "What's on the agenda today?" I ask as I begin my stretches.

"We are going to keep it easy today. Run a couple miles then spar. You have been getting sloppy, Swan." I look over at him and scowl.

"I have not! You have been getting easy." He rolls his eyes back at me.

"Come on. Time to start." I slip off my hoodie and follow him to the treadmills. He starts both of ours and we start running together.

This is a typical morning. Jake has made it his personal life goal to make me the strongest and fittest person in the mafia. We train almost every day, whether that is just a quick run on the treadmill or a full three-plus hour session. While those days are brutal, and I can barely walk the next day, they have made me who I am. I can take down men twice my size and can fight with the best of them.

After our 4-mile run, we move over to the sparring mat. Jake walks over to the storage unit and grabs gloves and hand targets I look at him strangely as he hands my set to me.

"What the fuck are the gloves for?" I normally just hit the pads he holds. We never use gloves unless we are full on fighting or there is some kind of event that requires me to not have any scrapes or cuts on my hands.

"Humor me." He says and takes my hands, putting on the gloves and fastening them. I raise an eyebrow at his actions and shake my head.

Once our equipment is secured, we stand a couple feet from each other, ready to begin.

"Okay, Swan. Show me what you got." He holds up the pads and we start. I swing my arms, making a hard impact in the center of the pad. Left. Right. Right. Dodge. Left. Right. We continue this for a while. Jake fakes me out and smacks the side of my head with the pad, causing me to stumble slightly. I quickly regain balance and come back harder, swinging as hard as I can. I dodge more punches and continue the beating of the pads in his hands.

At one point, I feel someone behind me. Before I can react, I am wrapped in their arms from behind. I throw elbows into their midsection and they loosen up their hold slightly as they groan. I take advantage of this and bend down, realigning my body with theirs. I then grab the arm that was originally around me and pull them over my shoulder. Their body lands hard on the ground and I look down to see Seth below me.

"Seth! What the fuck! Are you okay?" I yell as I realize he is groaning in pain. I see he has on a padded vest, but they only soften the blows. I kneel down next to him and unstrap the vest. "What the fuck Jacob? Did you plan this?" I look up, angry at my partner.

"Bells it's okay. I'm fine. Just a little sore." Seth says. He sits up and groans softly. "Jake just asked for my help. Said you needed to mix it up. Really I'm fine."

"Jacob Black I'm going to kill you." I glare at him and help Seth up. "Let's get you some ice." I walk with Seth to the kitchen and grab an ice pack.

"Bella I'm sorry. I knew you wouldn't have agreed if I asked you. I just wanted to challenge you. I don't want you to stay complacent." Jacob says apologetically, following us into the kitchen. I ignore him as I pull up Seth's shirt and wrap the icepack around his torso with an ace bandage.

"Bells," Seth says softly. He nudges my chin, forcing my eyes to meet his. "I'm okay. Jacob and I just want to help you okay. We care too much about you to let anything happen to you." I nod and sigh.

"Fine. But no more surprise attacks without my knowledge. I want to know who will be entering the ring before they come. Got it." I state, looking seriously at both of them. They both nod. "Good. Now I'm going to get ready for work. I'll see you at dinner." I kiss Seth's cheek and head up to my room. It was a tradition that every Friday our family would eat dinner together. It allowed us to be a normal family, even if for an hour or two.

I change into a business professional dress, a nice blazer, and heels. The dress was black with two white stripes running along the sides of the dress to accentuate my curves. The blazer was black, and the heels were nude. I fluffed up my hair and applied a small amount of fragrance. I grabbed one of my Gucci handbags and was ready to leave.

I walked to the garage and grabbed the keys to my black Aston Martin. It was a present for my 25th birthday this year and I tried to drive it as much as possible. I slid into it and started it up. I pulled out of the garage and headed to the office.

While my family has many illegal business operations, we did have many legal ones. We owned clubs, bars, restaurants, and Swan Incorporated. Swan Inc. was one of the country's information technology companies in the world. Anything digital, we were involved. We were also one of the leaders in technology-based research. My great-grandfather started Swan Inc. when he came over to America from Italy in the early 1900s. It has obviously evolved since its creation, but we still had the same core values.

I drove through the streets of New York City as quickly as possible, traffic was always a bitch. Once I finally made it to the building, I parked in the underground deck. I hurriedly made it to the elevator and up to my office on the top floor. As CEO, I was able to take over my father's old office and have the largest space with the best view. I nodded to my assistant as I pasted her and sat behind my desk, starting a long and tedious day.

By the time the day was done, I wasn't sure if I wanted to sleep for a year or take 12 shots. Everyone pissed me off and it seemed as if everyone forgot how to do their damn jobs. Hopefully, the weekend will allow people to reset. Otherwise, I will be looking for new employees.

As I was driving home, I received a call from my father.

"Swan." I stated. He chuckled, and I smirked as I visualized him shaking his head.

"You know it's me. You can drop the act."

"Should I call you father dearest next time?" I teased.

"That is not necessary." He chuckled again. He paused for a moment and sighed. "Are you on the way home?"

"Yes. Why? Is something wrong?" My mind instantly started running through possible situations that could have led to this call.

"Nothing is wrong…. I just need to talk to you. When you get home head straight to my office." Before I could reply or question this, he hung up.

"What the fuck?" I mumbled in confusion. The entire rest of the drive I sit and stew over the call.

What could my dad want to talk to me about? What is he hiding? Does it have to do with Jacob's weirdness last night?

By the time I get home, I'm even more confused and slightly worried. I park quickly and take the same staircase as the night before up to his office. I knock on the door and hear a muffled "come in". I open the door and see my father sitting on the couch in his sitting area, a scotch in his hand.

"Drinking before dinner?" I ask as I close the door and sit in the chair next to him, not wanting to be too close depending on what he has to tell me.

"Isabella you know I love you, yes? You also know how proud I am of you and that I have never doubted your ability to lead this family." He ignores my comment and looks deep into my eyes.

I narrow mine at him, watching him intently. "Yes. We have had this discussion many times."

He sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. "I was thinking...about when you transition to Dom. You will become an instant target. Every family will try to take you out because they will see you ask a weakness. But..it would be easier if you were…married."

I instantly saw red. 'How dare you! Do you honestly think I'm going to marry some asswipe just to appease the other families? Let some punk try to control our family? Take over what we both have worked our asses off to maintain? Fuck no. Absolutely fucking not!" I scream, jumping up and pacing the room.

"Isabella, please. I would never force your hand. I'm just saying it would be a good idea. It would keep you, the family, safer. I spoke with a few people on this idea and they agree." He says, trying to calm me down.

"Who? Who have you spoken to this about?" I ask. I feel hurt and betrayed by just the thought of him speaking with others about my future in such an intimate fashion. This was my future. My rightfully earned future. No one was going to make decisions for me.

He took a large sip of his drink, finishing it, before setting the glass down and turning towards me.

"I have spoken to a couple members of our family. I also brought it up to the… Irish."

I freeze my pacing and slowly turn my head to my father glaring at him with as much anger as I could. "You. Spoke. With. The. Irish."

"Carlisle has a son, about your age and unwed. It could benefit both families immensely." He stands and walks toward me. I hold out my hand, preventing him from getting any closer. "Isabella listen to me. I am not forcing your hand. I just want to give you options. I want you to live your life as freely as this life will let you. I can't stand the thought of you living with a target on your back."

"I'm going to have a target on my back no matter what. Every Boss does! I have been preparing for this my whole life and now you are trying to take it away. With the Irish no less. You act like I would still have control of our family if I married another boss. I know what is expected of a mob wife and I will NEVER be that!" I turn to walk out of the room, but he catches my hand.

"Isabella, I know you don't understand now but please be opened minded." He begs softly and drops my hand "They will be here for dinner in 30 minutes."

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Don't hate me! I know it is a little bit of a cliff hanger here. I promise you won't have to wait long for the next chapter though. But what did you all think? Do you like learning more about Bella and her background? Next chapter will be a fun one! As always, thank everyone for their love and support. Every favorite, follow, and review means so much to me! See you all on the next one.


	4. Chapter 4

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Here's to 2019 and all the greatness to come. I hope everyone had a happy NYE and will continue to have a great 2019. Without further ado, here is chapter 4.

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I stormed out of the room seeing red. I stomped to my room and slammed the door closed.

I can't believe him. How can my father just expect me to just drop my hopes, my future, just to appease the other bosses? I have been training for this for 10 plus years and now all of a sudden it means nothing!? And for the Irish none less. I've heard about those boys. They are disgusting with no respect for women. Sleeping around with anything that will spread their legs. And my father wants me to marry THAT?

I pace back and forth in my room, seething in anger. A knock at my door making me pause.

"Go Away!" I yell but the door opens anyway. Seth smiles at me softly and closed the door. He walks past me and into my closet, completely ignoring me and my rage.

"Seth, what the fuck are you doing?" I yell and follow him into my closet. He is looking through my dresses and grabs a deep plum lace dress.

"I'm trying to make you look presentable. I know you don't want to be at that table but you are still meeting with a Boss. You can't look like shit." He rolls his eyes and puts the dress in my hands. "Change and we can talk while you touch up."

I take the dress and scowl at him. Once he is out of the closet, closing the door behind him, I let out a deep sigh. I change out of my work clothes and slip on the dress. This is one of my mom's favorite dresses on me. The deep color compliments my skin and the full lace overlay allows it to be sexy and curve hugging, without looking hoe-y. It reaches my lower thigh and I smooth it down my body. I grab a pair of black pumps and slip them on. Before I leave my closet, I slip on my thigh holster and place my gun and a star in it. Just in case.

"Bells come onnnn." Seth whines and I chuckle, walking out. "You look hot! Now go fix your makeup real quick. We only have 20 minutes."

I roll my eyes and walk to my vanity and start touching up my makeup. It's silent for a moment before I ask, "Did you know?"

He looks down at his feet and sighs. 'Yeah. Charlie brought it up to me about a month ago."

I nod my head and take a deep breath, controlling my anger.

"What did you tell him?"

"I told him while the idea sounds great in theory, you would never follow through. You are too independent." He chuckles softly. "You would rather kill every single bachelor in the continental US than marry someone just for 'protection.'" I smile and nod again.

"You aren't wrong." I wink at him and then lean in to apply lipstick.

"But Bells. I wouldn't completely rebel against Charlie. You need to look at it from his point of view. He loves you and you are all he has left. He doesn't want to lose you too." I close my eyes and sigh. "I just wish I could be stronger, more like you. Then I could just take over and you wouldn't be in this situation." Seth mumbles and I turn to look at him.

"Seth stop. We have talked about this. You are perfect the way you are. It isn't your fault just as much as it isn't my fault." I say softly and walk over to him. I wrap my arms around him and he does the same for me. "Don't let me kill these people Seth," I whisper.

He chuckles softly and squeezes me once more before pulling back. "I have your back Bells."

"Always" I state and smile up at him. "Sooo, what Isabella should I be tonight? Meek and quiet mod daughter Isabella? Future Boss Isabella?" I teasingly ask as I smooth my dress back out.

"Don't you have an in between?" Seth jokes and holds out his arm for me to take. I loop mine with him and we walk out of my room and down the hall.

"Nope!" I laugh and we walk down the main staircase in the house. My father is down by the door closing it as our guests arrive. I immediately tense up as I see the seven of them.

I immediately recognize Carlisle Cullen, the head of the Irish mob. He is about 6 foot with short blond hair and brown eyes. He is slender but muscular, still deadly. I have seen him at other events and talked with him briefly. He seemed nice, for a Boss that is.

Next to him is his wife, Esme. She was beautiful and sophisticated, the perfect mod-wife. She reminded me of my mother with a similar style and body She was about my height but much softer than I was. Her bronze, red, brown hair was waved but styled to perfection.

Besides the two, there were three more men and two women. I knew the Cullen's had two sons and a daughter: Emmett, Edward, and Mary-Alice. I have seen the family at different occasions as a child, but have followed the brothers more closely as they aged. In order to play this game, you have to know who the players are. However, I haven't seen them since I was a little girl.

Emmett was a giant, at least 6'5, with muscles that could possibly break me in half. His dark curly hair was cut short and his brown eyes were staring down at the women in his arms, who I assumed was his girlfriend. She was the most beautiful women I have ever seen. She was taller than my 5'5 status by at least 3 inches. Her long blond hair was straightened but still had body and move to with it and her blue eyes looked up at the man before rolling them at whatever he just said.

Next to them was another couple holding hands. The male was more like Carlisle's built, slim but still muscular. However, he was thicker than Carlisle. He had longer blond hair that had a slight wave to it. He had muted blue/grey eyes that were observing the area. Next to him was Alice, a pixie like girl. She was barely over 5 feet with short, jet black spiky hair and the same green eyes and pale as Esme.

Off to the side was the final man of the Cullen family, Edward. He looked angry, or at least kind of pissed. I definitely felt where he was coming from. I wouldn't want to be here either if I was him. He was about the same height of the other blonde man at 6'2 and had a similar built to him, but was even more well built than him. His hair was the same strange bronze like color that Esme had as well as the same emerald green eyes. He was gorgeous. But I would never admit that out loud. I think it is safe to assume he would be the one I would be betrothed to and I will not allow that to happen, no matter how nice he is to look at.

As we reach the bottom of the stairs, my father turns to us and smiles. He looks me up and down and nods at my outfit choice. I roll my eyes at him.

"Bella! Seth! I would like you to meet Carlisle Cullen and his wife Esme." My father states while motioning to the two in front of the group.

"Isabella Swan. A pleasure to meet you both." I only allow my family to call me Bella. Isabella is for all associates, especially other Bosses. I see Carlisle smirk slightly as I shake his hand just as tough as my father would. Seth shakes his hand and I move on to shake Esme's hand but instead, she pulls me into a hug. I gasp and awkwardly hug her back.

"Oh, it's lovely to meet you, dear. You are so beautiful! Charlie has told me a lot about you but never said you were this beautiful." She gushes and squeezes my hands as I pull out of the hug.

"Uh thank you. I didn't know my father talked about me to many people." I said and glared at him while he and Seth chuckled softly at my awkwardness.

"Of course he does! He is so proud of you. Oh, but let me introduce you to our family, although you may remember my children." She turns and starts to point. "This is our eldest son Emmett and his fiancé Rosalie Hale." She points to the blonde in Emmett's arms. "This is our youngest Alice and her boyfriend Jasper Whitlock." She points to the blond young man. "And then this is our middle child, Edward". She points to the last man standing, the single gorgeous one. The one I'm expected to bow down too.

"It is wonderful to meet you all," I say as nicely as I can before turning to my father. "Is dinner ready?"

"Yes! Right, this way." He says and turns to lead our group to our main dining room. Before I can pass through the door, Jacob grabs my arm from his guard position.

"Nuh uh uh Swan. It's a peaceful dinner. I need your gun." He says and holds out his hand.

"Are you serious?"

"Yup. Not either give it to me or I'll get it myself." He winks, hand still out. Jasper paused at the door, watching our interaction.

'Fine." I huff and bend down to reach under my dress and pull the gun out of my holster. "Here. Perv." I place the gun in his hand, smooth my dress back down, and continue to walk into the dining room.

"I like you already," Jasper whispers and walks around to the other side of the table.

The Bosses set at the heads of the table, the two couples set on one side and the rest of us sat on the other side. As I saw Esme sit next to her husband and Edward sit next to her, I tried to sit next to my father but Seth beat me to it, winking at me. I begrudgingly sat down between Seth and Edward. Emmett was next to his father and Jasper was next to mine, while Alice and Rosalie sat next to their partners.

Before the conversation could start, our kitchen staff brought out beverages and started filing glasses.

"So Isabella, what do you do in your free time?" Alice asked me as I took a sip of my wine. Seth chuckles from beside me and I shoot him a glare.

"Oh. Well, I do work a lot. I have been running Swan Inc. for a couple years now so I don't have much free time." I smile politely. I mean, it's the truth. I figured saying I enjoying killing people and fighting would be a little much for the dinner table.

"You run your father's business?" Alice asks, raising her eyebrow at me. I hear Emmett scoff and feel all eyes on me.

"It's technically mine. That's what happens when you are appointed CEO." I state firmly, becoming defensive.

"Shit Charlie is this why we are here? Your daughter running your business to the ground?" Emmett chuckles at his joke and I see red. Before I even realize what I was doing, I have my throwing star in my hand and aiming for him. Before my wrist can even move to throw it, a warm hand grabs my arm.

"Nice kitty," Jacob whispers in my ear and takes the star out of my hand. "Sorry Chief. I didn't think she would still be packing after I got her gun." He tells my father and steps back to his place along the perimeter of the room.

Everyone is in shock and starting at me except Charlie, Seth, and Carlisle, who are all smirking and shaking their heads at me.

"I apologize for my daughter. She doesn't make friends well."

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Sooo. What do we think? I consider this part 1 of the dinner scene. Otherwise, this chapter would be wayyy to long. I promise to have the next chapter up soon. Review, favorites, and follows make my heart happy!


	5. Chapter 5

I'm so sorry for the wait! I was having problems writing this chapter and I'm still not sure if I like how it is. However, I'll let you all decide if it's good or not.

Also, I have forgot to add a disclaimer to all my chapters but I think you all know I (sadly) don't own Twilight or any of its lovely characters.

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" _Shit Charlie is this why we are here? Your daughter running your business to the ground?" Emmett chuckles at his joke and I see red. Before I even realize what I was doing, I have my throwing star in my hand and aiming for him. Before my wrist can even move to throw it, a warm hand grabs my arm._

" _Nice kitty," Jacob whispers in my ear and takes the star out of my hand. "Sorry Chief. I didn't think she would still be packing after I got her gun." He tells my father and steps back to his place along the perimeter of the room._

 _Everyone is in shock and starting at me except Charlie, Seth, and Carlisle, who are all smirking and shaking their heads at me._

" _I apologize for my daughter. She doesn't make friends well."_

Charlie chuckles at his own joke and I scowl at him.

"Bella calm down. You need to apologize. You just tried to kill the guy." Seth whispers in my ear. I sigh deeply, closing my eyes and count backward from 10. I open my eyes again and look down at Emmett. I can see the fear in his eyes, even though I can tell he is trying to hide it.

"I apologize. I don't handle sexist comments well." I state and the food comes out, pausing all conversation.

"Uh, it's fine. I was just joking. I'm sure you are a great boss." He says nervously and rubs the back of his neck. We all start to eat, the tension thick enough to cut with a knife.

"So Carlisle, how is business in Chicago? " I ask, looking at the other end of the table.

I feel the gaze of Edward's eyes on me, along with the rest of his family's. Apparently, business isn't a dinner table topic.

"It's going very well, Isabella. We are doing well. However, one of our… associates have gone missing. Have you talked to Morgan recently Charlie?" Carlisle responded, but directed his questioning to Charlie. I bit my lip and looked down, trying to contain the smirk. I can feel my father's scowl on me.

"You should be asking her. Isabella put him 6 feet under for disrespecting our family." My father states, anger in his voice. Edward's head whips around to stares me down and Jasper chuckles.

"Told y'all I liked her." he chuckles, a southern accent coming out.

"What the fuck do you mean you killed him? Who gave you the right!?" Edward growls, getting louder as he continues. "He has fucked over a lot of people and they are going to be pissed you killed him you fucking bitch!"

"Edward!" Esme scolds and I stand.

"You listen here asswipe. I am the Underboss of this family. I don't take orders from you or any of you Irish motherfuckers. I have already been disrespected once and it will not happen again! Yes, I killed Morgan and I don't fucking regret it. You either deal with it or get out of my fucking house. Got it?" I yell back at him and Seth grabs my arm and yanks me down to my seat.

Edward was shocked, to say the least. He had never had someone talk to him that way before, not even his father. He wasn't sure if he should be turned on or pissed as hell.

"You'll be a Boss?" Alice asks softly, looking at me with a mix of shock and awe.

"Yes." My father confirms and looks at me, eyes filled with pride. "She has been training for more than 10 years to take over this family. She is my only child and heir."

"What about Seth? I mean didn't even know girls could be Bosses?" Rosalie asks.

"We learned a long time ago that I was never cut out to be a Boss. My dad and uncle tried to push me, but I was never as good as Bella." Seth winked at me and I smiled softly at him.

"Well shit, I'm really sorry now. I had no idea." Emmett says and I can see the regret in his eyes.

"It is okay. I should be used to it by now. However not many know about my future plans besides our family. It could be dangerous for the wrong people to find out my true intentions." I say as I look around the room.

Each family member has a different look upon their face: shock, admiration, worry, and surprise. Edward's' face was the most different than all of them. He looked at me with a mix of lust, confusion, and pain. Lust I understood. I was attractive and I knew it. Confusion I understood as well. It wasn't every day you heard one of the biggest crime family in the United States would be taken over by a woman, and have your ass handed to you by said women. However, the pain confused me. Was it something he ate? Something I or my family said?

"We wouldn't want you to get hurt dear." Esme said softly, concern in her voice. Why she cared for me, I would never know.

"Well thank you for your concern but it is not necessary," I say, a small smile gracing my face.

We continue to chat amongst ourselves and eat our dinner. After a while, Seth's phone vibrated and he pulled it out of his pants pocket.

"Well I'm sorry to end this evening early but I have to head to bed. I have an early rotation tomorrow morning." Seth stands up and pushes his chair back in. "Good night everyone." He says as he walks out of the dining room. We all say goodnight back.

"I think now is a good time for all of us to break of for the night. I'm stuffed and I know you all must be tired from your flight. Bella can show you to your rooms." My father says. I scowl at him, but too tired to argue.

"Fine. If you all are ready we can head that way now." I stand and smooth out my dress. Once everyone is ready, I walk upstairs. I escort all the couples into the guest rooms furthest down the hall from me, not wanting to hear any of the nighttime activities they decide to pursue. The last room available, besides the rooms the guards use, is the room across the hall from mine.

"And this is your room," I tell Edward, the last person left. He nods and walks past me to the door. I turn to do the same but before I can open my door, I hear him call my name.

"Isabella?" I turn to look at him. "I'm sorry about mine and my family's behavior tonight." I look into his deep green eyes and can see he truly means it.

"I'm used to it." I shrug and walk into my room. I close my door and let out a deep sigh.

I go through my nightly routine, cleaning my face, changing into my pajamas and things like that. Once my head hits the pillow, I am out like a light.

I was only asleep for a few hours before I am awakened by Jacob, telling me to get changed quickly because something is wrong at the docks. I stumble to my closet, still partially asleep, and change into a tight black athletic material shirt, stretchy but tight black jeans, and my black boots. My typical stakeout attire.

Once I'm dressed I walk downstairs to the garage where Jake, Sam, Paul, Quil, and Embry are loading up our van and work car with weapons.

"What the fuck is going on?" I ask and they all stop what they are doing and look at me, nodding slightly. I nod back, acknowledging their sign of respect.

"Billy called from the docks and said he have seen some strange activity around the area. Found a camera set up and shit. He thinks someone is trying to fuck with tonight's shipment. Charlie wants us to go out and scope it out and make sure the shipment gets in." Paul says as they resume their previous activities. Paul has been with us for a while and one of our main guys. He would probably have been the one to work with me if it wasn't for the fact that he had a hot temper. He is very defensive of our family and to hear how people shit talk me all the time would cause him to get killed, or worst arrested.

Jacob walks over to me and hands me multiple holsters, already filled with knives and guns. "We need to leave soon. Put these on while we finish loading." I arch my brow at his orders and he rolls his eyes. "Please boss." He says and walks back to the van.

I quickly slip on the two thigh holsters as well as the waist holster. I take one of the knives left on the table and slip it in my right boot.

"Quil and Embry, you both are in the car. The rest take the van. Sam, you drive." I order once everything is secure. I hop in the back of the van and Jacob closes the doors behind us. Paul gets in the front with Sam and we drive off.

"So what do we know? I don't want us running in there blind." I ask.

"Billy is pretty damn sure someone is trying to steal the shipment. He has seen some suspicious activity around the docks and he thinks a few pounds of coke has been taken in total these past couple of months. Maybe a pound a month. He hasn't seen the perp on camera yet but the shipping weights have changed just enough to make him suspicious. He doesn't think it's more than 1 guy but with this size of shipment, there is no way only 1 guy is coming. I'm expecting at least 5." Jacob says and I nod.

"Then I want to make sure we secure all exits and entry paths of the bock. Besides the fucking water, there are only two, we drop the cars at them and we leave at least one person there. Then the rest of us split up around the dock, waiting for any surprise guests. We leave the van at the main entrance since it's the biggest and the car at the back entrance. Leave the two guys in the car and Sam you stay here. Jake, Paul, and I will go investigate." They all nod, but I see Jacob wants to argue.

They all do. Whenever we go out on missions like these, the guys always want me to stay behind. Not because I can't do it, they just don't want me to get hurt. At this point though, they don't argue with me because it won't work.

Sam grabs his phone and relays the orders to Quil and Embry. Once we get close, we cut the headlights and Sam parks the car hidden from the streets. The three of us hop out of the van, guns drawn. We quickly head over to our main delivery area on the docks. Many people use this area, but a nowhere near close to us. My family owns most of the land here to prevent others from snooping.

We get to the back door that leads to the inside of the dock. Paul opens the door while we cover him. Once the coast is clear, we walk inside. Quietly we walk to the front of the building. Old empty shipping containers and crates surround us. Paul nods to us and walks down a separate path, hoping to surround whoever may be there. Once at the front of the building, you can smell the sea and hear the waves.

The boat has already dropped the load and is gone. Sitting there on a piece of crate is about half a ton of cocaine. Sales were higher than expected so this was just an extra shipment to meet demand.

"It's still here. Maybe they aren't coming tonight. Or Billy was just plain wrong." I said as I walked over to the crate.

"You know dad isn't wrong when it comes to snoops. Something isn't right." Jacob said as he observed the area, looking for something out of place or wrong. Billy Black is our warehouse manager and Jacob's father. Billy and my father were friends since they were children, and when my father took over, he put Billy in charge of our different storage spaces and warehouses.

I walked the shipment, observing it like Jacob was the room.

"Jake I don't see anything wrong..." I say as I look up at him. However, I see something move behind him and an arm moves up to point at him. "Jake down!" I scream and fire shots at the figure.

More shots are heard as more men appear. Jacob runs over to me and we brace ourselves up against one of the containers, firing back at the men ambushing us. Eventually, it all stops and there are about 10 men killed.

"Paul are you okay?" I call and all I hear is silence. "Shit come on. We need to find him." I take off down the path that he should be on.

"Bella wait!" Jake hisses and follows behind me. We round the corner and see Paul on the ground, a gash on his head.

"Paul!" I gasp and run over to him. I kneel down and press my fingers to his neck, checking his pulse. I feel the steady heartbeat and sigh. "He's okay. Probably just knocked out when they came in." I say, turning to Jacob.

Before I can fully look at him, I hear Jacob scream my name and the sound of a gunshot.

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What do you all think?! I have so many great ideas for this story but getting them from my brain to my keyboard is a little harder. Anyways, I hope to have the next chapter up soon. I am starting my last semester of school this week (Yay!) so I'm hoping my posting times won't get too crazy. I should still be able to keep it about once a week. As always, reviews, favorites, and follows make me sooo happy!


	6. Chapter 6

I am sooooooooooooooo sorry for how late I am uploading this story. My life is crazy hectic and I'm just low on motivation to do anything. Thank you to all those who have continued to read and review. I hope you like this chapter! As always, I sadly don't own Twilight and all that jazz. I'll see you at the bottom!

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I hear a second gunshot, another person cry out, and feel the weight of a body fall on top of me. I pause, listening for anything else. All I hear is a man's voice mumbling in a foreign language and a grunt in pain above me. I push the person off me and grab my gun, ready to defend myself. I see one of the perps on the ground holding his shoulder. I jump up and kick his gun away from him. I swiftly kick him in the side and he cries out in pain. As he does so, he rolls over on his side. I grab his right arm and fight for control of the left. Once I have both of his arms pinned, I zip tie them together. I stand, kicking him once more and grab my phone. 

"Sam, Quil, and Embry. Two men down. Get here now." I bark into the phone and walk back over to my men.

Paul was still out like a light and Jacob was clutching the side of his chest. I quickly strip out of my shirt and help him sit up, pressing it into the wound.

"You are so stupid Jacob." I mumble, applying more pressure to the wound, blood covering my hands.

"It's my job Bell. I can't let you die." He coughs out, his eyes glassy as he looks at me. I hear the door near us fling open.

"Bella?!" Sam yells.

"Over here!" I call and shortly after that, the three of them show up.

"Fuck what happened here?" Embry asks, taking in the scene.

"Quil and Embry you take Paul to the van first. Sam help me with Jacob. Once you two are done, take that asswipe over there to the club. Keep him alive. I need answers." I order and they all immediately react.

Sam comes over to me and squats down. "How you want to do this boss?" He asks softly, looking at me with sadness filling his eyes.

"Let's see if he can walk. If not we carry him." I say and we both try to help him stand.

"Fuckkkk" Jacob cries out in agony as we move him to stand. I look at Sam and nod. We brace ourselves and lift Jake with our arms around his back and under his knees. I struggle to hold his form but push through the pain, walking to the van.

"Damn Jake you need a fucking diet." I grumble and Sam laughs, agreeing with me. I feel Jake tug at my ponytail and glare at him.

"Don't tease me. I took a bullet for you." He mumbles and starts to close his eyes.

"No you don't. Wake up!" I yell and we set him down on the back of the van. We scoot him back so he is next to Paul.

"Sam you drive. I'll keep the pressure on the wound and make the call." He nods and we hop in the van. The car with the other two pulls out and we follow them.

"You got to stay awake Jake." I say softly and I move so I am sitting next to him. I pull out my phone and dial my father's number. It rings for a second before he answers.

"Swan." He barks out.

"Call Dr. Banner and wake Seth. We have two men down, one hit." I call out and Jake groans at the pressure.

"Fuck!" Charlie yells. "ETA?" He asks and I can hear him running down the hall. I look out the window.

"20 at the most. Have someone ready as soon as we get there. Jacob has lost a lot of blood." I hang up and look at my dear friend. I tear up and wipe m face, probably smearing his blood across my cheeks.

"You are going to be okay Jake. You can't leave me like this." I hold his with my free one and look into his dark eyes.

It's quiet for the rest of the ride besides my occasional sniffle of tears and his groans in pain. We breeze through security and pull into the garage. Once the vehicle is parked the back door flies open. Seth and my father are there with a gurney. I help them shift Jacob onto the stretcher and rush into the house with Seth while Sam and my Dad get Paul out.

"What happened?" Seth asks as we rush to the medical faculty we have in the house.

"We thought it was all over and I was checking on Paul. Some guy was hiding and tried to take me out but Jake stepped in front of me." I saw with tears in my eyes. I don't even notice all the Cullens watching us rush past them. We get into the operating room and move him to the operation table.

"I can't do much till Banner is here. He's about 5 minutes out. I can prep him for surgery though." Seth says and hands me a knife. "Get his shirt off while I get him hooked up to an IV. "

I cut open Jacob's shirt and pull it from his body as much as I can without hurting him. I see Seth sterilizing Jake's arm before entering needle into it.

'Fuck." Jake hisses and I grab his other hand, squeezing it softly.

"You would complain about a needle while being shot." I chuckle and brush the hair from his face, trying to calm both him and myself.

Seth continues to set things up while barking out instructions to me. Eventually Dr. Banner walks in and Seth fills him in while I am ushered out of the room.

I slide down the wall by the door and pull my phone out, dialing the person I was dreading talking to. It rang a few times before a tired feminine voice answers.

"Hello?" She says, clearly been awaken from deep sleep.

"Ness it's Bella." I say softly, a single tear running down my cheek. I hear ruffling as she sits up.

"Bella what's wrong? Why are you calling so late?" I hear the fear and confusion in her voice.

"I'm so sorry Ness but Jake was shot. He's in surgery now, but he lost a lot of blood." I hear her sob on the other side and it breaks my heart. Another tear slips down my cheeks and I lean my head on my knees.

"I'll have someone come get you. I don't know when he will get out of surgery but I know he will want to see you." I say softly.

It's silent besides her sniffs and I hear a quiet "Okay. I'll pack a bag."

"I'll call your father in the morning and explain the situation. I'll make sure you get some time off. I'll see you in a little bit." I hang up the phone and sit there for a while, my mind replaying the night.

"Boss" Sam says softly. I look up at him and see the sadness in his eyes. "Charlie wants a rundown of tonight."

I nod and take his outreached hand to help me off the floor. I hold my emotions together and walk back towards the living room to fill in my Dad.

As I walk into the room, I see the Cullen's are awake and sitting in the living room with my father. The ladies are speaking to each other while the man are speaking with my father. My father notices my arrival to the room and stands.

"Bella what happened?' He says softly and walks over to me, taking my hands in his. My father has never been a very affectionate man, but he can read me like a book.

"It was a normal patrol. Everything seemed fine but then we were ambushed. Jake and I were fine until we found Paul knocked out. That is when someone tried to shoot me, Jake jumped in front of me, taking the bullet. We thought everyone was down. This one guy was hiding and we have him locked up now. I just don't understand. It's like someone knew we were going to be there and who was going. Why would someone want to kill me? No one knows who I am except..." I trailed off and looked over at the Cullens.

A switch flipped in my brain.

"YOU! It was one of your fucking men wasn't it Cullen!? Where you hoping to take me out and destroy my family? Did you think that you could swoop in and take over once I was gone? Fuck am I really that terrible of an arranged bride that you want to fucking murder me," I scream as stalk towards Edward. Edward looks at me in shock, confusion written across his face.

"I'm going to fucking kill you." Before I can swing at him, two large arms wrap around me, holding me down.

"Let me fucking go Sam!" I scream and struggle to get out his arms.

" _Isabella ti controlla! Che tipo di capo sei?!_ " (Isabella control yourself. What kind of Boss are you?) My father shouts. I glare at him and growl as I'm continue to be held down.

"Sorry your friend was hurt but my family had nothing to do with it. I was told today we were coming here and would never but a hit like that on another family, especially a women. But what the fuck are you talking about arranged bride. I'm not marrying anyone." Edward states and looks between my father and his. His voice is hard. I can tell he is pissed but he keeps his emotions controlled, while I'm a raging lunatic.

Sam's grip loosens and I throw an elbow into his sides. He groans and I'm able to get out of his hold.

"If he dies, someone will pay." I snarl and stalk out of the room. I get up to my room and slam the door, locking it up tight. I scream and throw a lamp across the room. As it shatters, I look at the broken glass. The anger I feel shifts to sadness and I break down in tears.

Jake didn't deserve this. He was a good man. My best friend. He wanted more than to die because some punk wanted to kill me. I wasn't worth it. He's already bought a ring and was going to propose to Ness. Poor Ness. The one female friend I have will despise me for the rest of my life.

As I sobbed on the floor by the door, I hear a quiet knock.

"Go away!" I scream.

"Isabella please let me in." I hear Esme call softly. "I just want to help you get cleaned up."

I look down and see I'm still shirtless and bloody. I move to flip the lock on the door, still sitting on the ground. I curl into a ball and wait for her to come in. I heard the door open and close softly and her crouch down next to me.

"I'm so sorry about Jacob" She says and runs her hands through my hair. I flinch at the contact at first but slowly become comfortable with her touch.

"How about we get you cleaned up and then to bed? It is still quiet early in the morning and when Jacob wakes up he is going to need his friend." I look up at her and see pure love and compassion in her eyes.

I nod and slowly get up off the floor. We walk to the bathroom and she starts the shower for me.

"I would normally recommend a bath but I think we need you clean before you relax." She says and looks at the dried blood covering my arms and chest. "Where are your towels love?" She ask.

"Right there." I say pointing to the closet in my bathroom.

"Well you get in and I'll lay out your towels. I'll be in your room if you need any help love." She says and steps out to give me some privacy.

I slip off my clothes and walk into my shower. I stand under the spray, feeling numb. I see the water is tainted red. I grabbed my soap and scrubbed my skin to the point it was almost raw. I quickly washed my hair and rinsed it.

I turned off the water and stepped out, seeing two fluffy towels on the counter. I wrapped one around my head and one around my body. I walked out of the bathroom to get a change of clothes and saw Esme sitting at the foot of my bed.

"You are still here?" I ask and walk into my clothes. I slip on a pair of black shorts and one of Jake's old shirts I stole. I walk back into my room and sit at my vanity.

"Of course dear. I said I would wait for you to get out. Now how about I braid your hair and then you get some sleep." She says and grabs my brush, starting to run it though my hair.

I sit in silence as she starts to braid my hair. I don't really know how to respond.

"You have such beautiful long hair Isabella." Esme says almost to herself.

"Thank you." I pause. "My mom loved long hair and always made sure my hair was perfect. She would braid it every night before bed when I was a kid."

I see her smile sadly at me, remembering that I my mother has been gone for a while now.

"Well she is right. Long hair is beautiful. I was so sad when Alice cut her hair, but it suits her. The boys call her a pixie because of it and her height." She giggles and wraps a hairband around the end of the braid. "There you are love. All done. Now let's get you into bed." I stand and walk over to my bed, getting into it.

"Goodnight Isabella." She says once I am under the covers.

"Goodnight." I reply back and she turns to leave my room.

"Esme" I call. She turns to look at me, hand on the doorknob. "Thank you."

"You are more than welcome love. I'll see you in the morning." She smiles and leaves the room, turning out the light.

I close my eyes and fall into restless sleep, dreaming of my mother and gunshots.

* * *

So what do you all think! We see Bella's soft side. I'm thinking on doing Edward's POV next chapter. What do we think about that? Please please please show me some love (or hate if this chapter is terrible). I will see you on the next one!


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